Not Black Enough

I’m not Black enough

Yet my hair grows like a crown atop my head 

Watered with the tears of my ancestors

Who used their crowns to guide them to freedom

I’m not Black enough 

Yet my features are those of my relatives 

Passed down from generation to generation

Constantly belittled and ridiculed by Society

I’m not Black enough

Yet my body is like a temple 

Beautiful, yet flawed

Representative of the women I look up to most

I’m not Black enough

Yet I was told to burn in hell at 16

Because apparently 

“Coloreds like you don’t deserve to live on this planet”

I’m not Black enough

Yet I fear for my brother and father’s lives every day

Knowing that if they encounter the wrong cop on the highway

I may never see them again

So tell me

Am I Black enough yet?